Archives are organized collections of records created by public, semipublic, institutional, or business entities during their operations and preserved by them or their successors. These include papers, documents, photographs, and other materials that are often unpublished or one-of-a-kind and are maintained for historical reasons. Archives differ from libraries in that they do not select records but receive and preserve documents as organic bodies of documentation, respecting their integrity and original order. The administration of archives entails collecting, preserving, and making records available, employing distinct principles and management techniques. The state is responsible for the care of its documentary heritage and the public's accessibility to it.

What types of materials can you find in archives?

Archives contain various materials preserved for historical reasons. These include papers, documents, and photographs, often unpublished or one-of-a-kind, created during the business activities of a public or private body. Libraries frequently seek nonofficial archives, such as records of institutions or businesses, for their socioeconomic historical value, preserving them in manuscript and similar collections. Many libraries, especially public and school libraries, have built up extensive collections of nonbook materials, from recordings of symphony orchestras on long-playing records or compact discs to tape-recorded oral history interviews. Videotape loans are also available from many libraries.

Why are archives important for preserving history?

Archives are vital for preserving history because they serve as repositories for records and documents that offer insights into past events, people, and societies. They ensure the preservation of cultural heritage and collective memory by safeguarding unique, unpublished materials like papers, photographs, and other historical records. Archives play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of historical records by preserving documents in their original order and context. This enables researchers and historians to access authentic sources of information, facilitating a deeper understanding of the past. Additionally, archives provide public access to historical documents, promoting transparency and accountability in governance and society.

How do archivists organize and store information?

Archivists organize and store information by collecting and preserving documents as organic bodies of documentation, respecting their integrity and original order. They create catalogs and finding aids to help users locate specific materials. To manage records, archivists determine which records to remove from agencies, when to dispose of them, and how. They handle various records, including photographic records , motion pictures, sound recordings, and computer-kept records . For electronic records, archivists ensure authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, often intervening early in the process. They also use specialized electronic-records-management tools to capture business transactions and associated metadata.

What challenges do archives face with digital materials?

Archives face considerable challenges managing digital materials, including technological obsolescence, which can compromise preservation efforts if reformatting relies on outdated technology. Electronic records require proactive records management and early intervention by archivists to ensure authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. Additionally, the science of records control faces issues such as determining which records to remove, when to dispose of them, and how to handle various modern record types like photographs, films, and computer data.

How can students or researchers use archives in their studies?

Archives serve as invaluable resources for students and researchers, offering primary source materials essential for in-depth study. These repositories house documents, papers, photographs, and other records created by public, semipublic, institutional, or business entities. Researchers use archives to collect, preserve, and make available documents as organic bodies of documentation. Unlike libraries that acquire materials, archives receive and maintain records in their original order, respecting their integrity. Students and researchers can access public archives after a designated time, with well-known archives including the Archives Nationales in France, the U.S. National Archives , and the National Archives in the United Kingdom. Many institutions, like universities and organizations, also maintain archive departments, further aiding socioeconomic and historical research.

archives

Also known as: record office, records

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Oct. 31, 2026 •History

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Top Questions

What are archives?
Archives are organized collections of records created by public, semipublic, institutional, or business entities during their operations and preserved by them or their successors. These include papers, documents, photographs, and other materials that are often unpublished or one-of-a-kind and are maintained for historical reasons.

Archives differ from libraries in that they do not select records but receive and preserve documents as organic bodies of documentation, respecting their integrity and original order. The administration of archives entails collecting, preserving, and making records available, employing distinct principles and management techniques. The state is responsible for the care of its documentary heritage and the public's accessibility to it.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What types of materials can you find in archives?
Archives contain various materials preserved for historical reasons. These include papers, documents, and photographs, often unpublished or one-of-a-kind, created during the business activities of a public or private body.

Libraries frequently seek nonofficial archives, such as records of institutions or businesses, for their socioeconomic historical value, preserving them in manuscript and similar collections. Many libraries, especially public and school libraries, have built up extensive collections of nonbook materials, from recordings of symphony orchestras on long-playing records or compact discs to tape-recorded oral history interviews. Videotape loans are also available from many libraries.
1 Britannica Source
1. library: Archives
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Why are archives important for preserving history?
Archives are vital for preserving history because they serve as repositories for records and documents that offer insights into past events, people, and societies. They ensure the preservation of cultural heritage and collective memory by safeguarding unique, unpublished materials like papers, photographs, and other historical records.

Archives play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of historical records by preserving documents in their original order and context. This enables researchers and historians to access authentic sources of information, facilitating a deeper understanding of the past. Additionally, archives provide public access to historical documents, promoting transparency and accountability in governance and society.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do archivists organize and store information?
Archivists organize and store information by collecting and preserving documents as organic bodies of documentation, respecting their integrity and original order. They create catalogs and finding aids to help users locate specific materials.

To manage records, archivists determine which records to remove from agencies, when to dispose of them, and how. They handle various records, including photographic records, motion pictures, sound recordings, and computer-kept records. For electronic records, archivists ensure authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, often intervening early in the process. They also use specialized electronic-records-management tools to capture business transactions and associated metadata.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What challenges do archives face with digital materials?
Archives face considerable challenges managing digital materials, including technological obsolescence, which can compromise preservation efforts if reformatting relies on outdated technology. Electronic records require proactive records management and early intervention by archivists to ensure authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. Additionally, the science of records control faces issues such as determining which records to remove, when to dispose of them, and how to handle various modern record types like photographs, films, and computer data.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How can students or researchers use archives in their studies?
Archives serve as invaluable resources for students and researchers, offering primary source materials essential for in-depth study. These repositories house documents, papers, photographs, and other records created by public, semipublic, institutional, or business entities.

Researchers use archives to collect, preserve, and make available documents as organic bodies of documentation. Unlike libraries that acquire materials, archives receive and maintain records in their original order, respecting their integrity.

Students and researchers can access public archives after a designated time, with well-known archives including the Archives Nationales in France, the U.S. National Archives, and the National Archives in the United Kingdom. Many institutions, like universities and organizations, also maintain archive departments, further aiding socioeconomic and historical research.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

archives, repository for an organized body of records produced or received by a public, semipublic, institutional, or business entity in the transaction of its affairs and preserved by it or its successors. The term archives, which also designates the body of records themselves, derives from the French, and it, or a cognate, is used in most continental European countries and in the Americas. The terms records and record office are used in the United Kingdom and in some parts of the British Commonwealth.

Although the institution of archives and something of archival administration may be traced from antiquity, archives and archival administration as they are understood today date from the French Revolution. With the establishment of the Archives Nationales in 1789 and of the Archives Départementales in 1796, there was for the first time a unified administration of archives that embraced all extant repositories and record-producing public agencies. The second result was the implicit acknowledgment that the state was responsible for the care of its documentary heritage. The third result was the principle of accessibility of archives to the public.

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Practice and principle have varied somewhat from country to country, but the pattern has generally been a central repository and, if conditions warrant them, provincial repositories. France has kept in the departmental archives not only the modern archives relating to the area but also those from the prerevolutionary period. The Netherlands has a central state archives and the provincial archives. The schism following World War II gave the Federal Republic of Germany a Bundesarchiv at Koblenz and the German Democratic Republic a central archives at Potsdam, but there are also repositories in the several Länder, or states. Italy has no single, central institution for state archives but has a series of important repositories, united under the ministry of the interior, which reflect the earlier divisions of the country. In the United States the National Archives was established in 1934 to house the retired records of the national government; the Federal Records Act of 1950 authorized the establishment also of “intermediate” records repositories in the several regions into which the country has been divided by the General Services Administration. Under the federal system of government each of the states of the United States independently has its own archival agency. In Canada, similarly, both the federal Ottawa government and the several provinces maintain their own archives. The Australian Archives has headquarters in Canberra and branches in all the state capitals and in Darwin and Townsville; the states have their own archives, usually under the management of state libraries.

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